Staten Island was a curious place to grow up. Though it is one of the five boroughs of New York, culturally, it felt very different. And politically, it is a different world. Staten Island has consistently voted for Trump and other Republican candidates, even as the rest of New York sprints down the road to Democratic Socialism serfdom.
From a perspective of geography, Staten Island is also unique. There are several bridges that connect Staten Island: three go to New Jersey, and one, the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, goes to Brooklyn. (Fun fact: you only pay the toll when you enter Staten Island, not when you leave.) The Staten Island Ferry connects Staten Island with lower Manhattan. (There are some other smaller ferries that connect to different piers in Manhattan.)
How should congressional representation for Staten Island work? Well, its population is not high enough to justify its own district. So for the past four decades, Staten Island's congressional district has included parts of Brooklyn (mostly Bay Ridge). That move made sense as a matter as geography, as it was the only contiguous land mass that Staten Island was connected to.
